Dan and Reggie at Park City Mountain
By Reggie Yemma
It was our first destination ski vacation together. My partner Dan Foldes and I had skied in Colorado throughout our college years, but we had only gone on day trips up to the mountains. This was the first time that we would be flying to a ski town, staying in a hotel, and skiing for three days straight, just the two of us.
Despite having arrived at the Park City Peaks Hotel late at night, the staff was ready for us. They provided all of the right information in a friendly way. They told us everything we needed to know in order to plan our first day on the mountain and we even lucked out by grabbing a late dinner at the Upper Deck Sports Pub just before the kitchen closed down for the night. Whew!
In the morning the Peaks Hotel provided a lovely and hearty breakfast buffet, which was necessary fuel for our first day skiing at the Park City Mountain Resort. The Peaks also has a large indoor/outdoor pool, two hot tubs, and sauna – all necessary après ski. We turned in for a good night’s sleep, excited about the weather report of cold but blue skies for the next three days.
Our second morning began with delicious eggs benedict from the breakfast buffet at the Peaks Hotel. They provide plenty of healthy and delicious options at breakfast, which is included in the regular room rate. Good deal, and a great way to fuel up for the slopes.
Getting to and from the mountain each day was made easy by the free city shuttle bus right outside the hotel’s front door.
The skiing at Park City Mountain Resort was fantastic on each of our three days skiing together. Dan and I do enjoy challenging – but reasonable – terrain and skiing hard for a whole day, so we were psyched by what faced us at Park City.
Our warm-up on the many steep mogul and tree runs off the McConkey’s lift was… humbling for us early-season skiers. Each day, we tended to go back and forth between our favorite runs off of the McConkey’s and Jupiter lifts. A nice thing about PCMR is that they are very welcoming to first-timers on their mountain. Friendly ski guides are stationed at most map placards around the mountain and happily provide the best advice for finding the type of terrain that any level of skier may want.
Inside the High West Distillery and Saloon in Park City
Another highlight of our Park City adventure was our anticipation-filled dinners out on the town. Our favorite was at the High West Distillery & Saloon, located on Park Street in the heart of downtown PC. We graciously accepted the hostess’s offer to be seated nearly immediately at the bar. Our server and bartender, Harrison, was very good to Dan and I, helping us make all the right decisions for food and drink. We enjoyed several of High West’s award-winning whiskeys before and after indulging in an incredibly well prepared and perfectly portioned “Black Angus Tri Tip with Spicy Slaw”, one of their small plates (perfect for sharing, if you are the sharing type). Oh, and we topped off the whole meal with “Chocolate Whiskey Pudding with Utah Cherries” – OMG!
As we stood on top of the Jupiter bowls on our last day of skiing in Park City, we took in the dramatic beauty of the surrounding Wasatch Mountains, and couldn’t believe how fast our vacation flew by. The mountain had been a perfect challenge for us. We took advantage of every minute the lifts were opened and the beautiful clear (albeit cold) weather each day to ski hard, drink hot chocolate mid-mountain at the Summit House, and then partake of the great amenities of the Park City Peaks Hotel and relax once the day was over.
There was even a cookie delivery service right to our hotel door each night. Can it get any better? We can’t wait to go back!